Kitchen utensil



June 2, 1942.

J. A. MURDOCK 2,285,381 KITCHEN UTENSIL Filed July 1, 1940- a r I Patented June 2, 1942 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,285,381 KrroriEN UTENSIL James A. Murdock, Chicago, 111.

Application July 1, 1940, Serial No. 343,405

7 Claims.

This invention relates to kitchen utensils and has for its object to provide an improved kitchen utensil for the slicing of vegetables.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved kitchen utensil which can be made as a portable unit, which can be easily and cheaply constructed, and which is easy to operate.

A further object of this invention is to provide a kitchen utensil of this type which has no exposed sharp blades which require sharpening, replacement or adjustment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a kitchen utensil of this character in which, as the vegetable is being sliced, the severing of each slice will prepare the vegetable for the next operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a kitchen utensil of this character which can be employed to slice vegetables into long slices or to cut them into cubes in such a manner that the slices produced will be of the greatest possible uniformity and the waste occasioned by theirrequisite thickness their passage through the vegetable being cut is made exceedingly diflicult. Where a number of cutting members operate upon the vegetable at the same time, the blades must simultaneously pass through the vegetable and the vegetable must be compressed to accommodate the total of the thickness of the several strips of metal which must pass through the vegetable. This compression of the vegetable body not only increases the difficulty with which the blade member are forced through the vegetable, but also destroys the cellular structure of the portions of the vegetable about the blade and impairs the quality of the food. Thus, in the case of potatoes being prepared for French frying, as the potato is forced through a cutter with a number of blades, which attempt to cut several longitudinal strips at one time, the compression of the strips between adjacent cutting members destroys the structure of the potato and toughens it when it is prepared for consumption.

It is thus the object of this invention to provide a device in which the strip is cut from the body of the vegetable in a single operation and in which the strips being out are never compressed between unyielding members.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of V the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying of the cutting member in a preferred embodi-- ment of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral l0 designates the body of the kitchen utensil. The body is preferably composed of a suitable base member II. In the embodiment shown it is stamped from a flat sheet metal plate, flanged along its sides to form the upright flanges l2 which serve as supports for the base member. H at a sufficient elevation above the table upon which the kitchen utensil is designed to be 'operated so that the portions of the vegetable being severed from its body may pass beneath the kitchen utensil and out of the way of subsequent portions being severed fromv the vegetable. In the embodiment shown in the drawing the base plate H is also provided with a wire framework 13 which is formed so as to follow the edges of the base member I l and to provide a rigid skeleton to increase the rigidity of the kitchen utensil. Obviously this wire frame l3 may be omitted and the base II and flanges l2 formed of metal.

as an integral part thereof, these cutting members may be made separately and aflixed to the base H by welding orotherfamiliar methods of attachment. The cutting members l5 and I6 shown in' Figz l udicated by thenumeral -IS is higher than the other portion 20, which is adjacent to the cutter l6.

The cutter I6 is shown L-shaped in form. Ob-

viously, without modifying the principles of its construction and operation, this formpanbe changed into other simple angular or circular forms, provided that the form ofcutteremployed has a cutting edge parallel to the vegetable engaging surface of the platform adjacent thereto. In the embodiment shown, the portion Zll of the base plate H extends on la horizontalpl-ane from the edge-of the kitchen utensil at the flange (2 until it rises in the form of the vertical walls 2| and 22 of the PIatfOIm 'Iif- It-JS to be noted that the vertical wa-ll 2l,;hereafter'calledi-ithe guide" wall 21, is spaced from the vertical ;wall 22 the width of the square opening 23 which iris formed by the termination of :the base' portion 20 of the plate II, the termination-of the guide wall 2|, the forward edge 24 of the wall 22,:and the forward edge 25 of; the platform 1'4 of the kitchen utensil. Only'thejedges 2t and 25 serve ascutting edges. I

In the preferred form of 25,;which; forms the horizontal cutter, is formed out-f the plane of-the platform I4 so that at the extreme edge the lowersurface-of the cutter 25 will be on the plane of-,-;-the; upper surface of the platform l4. This-formation can beieffected by forming the forwardedge-of the blade in the stamping operation so that its lower surface isi level with theupper surface of the platform l4; .or the edge can be subsequently. stamped or stampednand groundinto' the configuration shown in'-Flg. 4. 1 Similarly, the'cutter; I5 is pref erably formed to thesame configuration as indicated in Fig. 3. Thepurpose of this feature will,. be described in the description of the operation of this device. 1 i

Operation of the kitchenutensil When it is desired to operate the kitchen utensil'it can be placed upon -a-- horizontal surface with the-opening in;the;cutter member fac ing the operator. ing in the position in which-1 it is 'shown'in'Fig; 1', the operator would stand to the left of the drawing.- The vegetable, whichis suggested as apotato-in, the sectional-representation irrFig; 2, is placed uponthe .portionof the. base l-l: nearest the operator and in front ,of .the.-opening. In Fig. 2 the potato 26 is shown placed upon the side portionof the base. It afterrseveral cutting operations have been performed. a

When the side of the potato inthisv positionis forced snugly against the guidewall 2| and its base held firmly on the plate. ll, the potato can be pushed forwardand the cutting edges 24 and 25 will make a right angular cut as the potato moves forward. The cut faces of that portion of the potato which remains outside of thecutter IE will bear respectively against the surfaces this structure the. ledge Thus, with theqdevice standof the vertical wall 22 and the platform l4, the severed strip of the potato being free to pass beneath the base I l.

After the full length of the potato has passed beyond the cutting edges 24 and 25, the severed strip will be freed of the potato. The cut surfaces of the remaining portion of the potato will conform to the configuration of the part of the utensil formed by the wall 22 and its adjacent portion of the platform M as well as that formed by the guide wall 2| and its adjacent portion of the platform IA. The wall22. andadjacent surface of the platform M. will serve to keep the potato parallel to the Wall 22 and so guide it as to insure the uniformity of the out throughout the length thereof. 'I'husIwhen the vegetable is drawn back. and

again appliedto the cutter, the cut surfaces will bear against the guide wall 2| and the platform 49, and, thus; insure that the next out will be of exactlythe form of the opening 23. Each succeeding strip is thus necessarily of uniform section. r r Because of the deformation-of the cutting edge 36, the horizontal cut surface of the vegetable 26 is exactly -levelwiththe upper-surface iofthe platform: l4.-. This-not-only facilitat'es-the'application ofthe vegetable-to the kitchen'utensil'for the succeedingcut; but insuresthat thelower surface of the vegetable 26 *will hear on the: base portion- 20 at the same time thatthe higher cut surface of the vegetable-will bear" againststhe platform I4.

Obviously, t this formation insures. perfect registrationof eachsucceedingcutof the vegetable-26 and insuresthat-eachcut of-.the vegetable will be ofidentical sectional dimensions J nd shape.

If it is desired to cut the potato stripsinto cubes, this can readily be done by laying a number ofthestrips uponr-the portionn20 of the base II and transverse;totlrelongitudinal axis of the kitchenutensil withtheirrespective'ends against theguide wall-2l;, and forcing the stripsagainst the cutter -16. 'The'cuttingyedge 24-will zseveri a small cube from'the-end'of the strip. :Thisoperation can be repeated until t-he-strips, are :wholly reduced -to;cubes;::-

= 3- i xi; If --the -vegetableiis -to" be cut into-strips other than-=those rectangular or square in section, the edges and 25 must :b'e, formed-to the desired shape ,and the corresponding: guide: wall- 2| and .wall 22- andthe platform -l4'ofrithe kitchen .utensil Patent'of the? United States is:

1'.- A vegetable cutter comprising a base, ahori must-be similarly formed: One of "the cutting edges must alsobe sufflciently deformed to ins'ure that as each cut ismade the remaining portion of the vegetable can b appliedto the cutter with the cut surfaces bearing snugly against the base and guide'wall.

'Although the invention'hasibeen disclosed in connection with the specific details of a preferred embodiment thereof,. it must -be. understoodthat such details are not intended to be. limitative of I the :invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying-claims -r' Havingr'thusdescribed -my invention, what I claims-astnew and desire to secure by Letters zontal cutting edge being raised to cut at the plane of the upper surface of the platform;

2, A vegetable cutter comprising a base, a horizontal platform above said base, a vertical guide wall rising to said platform from said base, a

vertical knife parallel to said guide wall andspaced therefrom, a horizontal knife parallel to said base and spaced therefrom and having its lower cutting edge on the plane of the upper surface of said platform.

3. A vegetable cutter comprising a base, a guide member upon said base having one horizontal.

and one vertical vegetable engaging surface, a cutter affixed to said base having a vertical cutting edge parallel to the vertical, vegetable engaging surface of said guide member and a horizontal cutting edge parallel to the horizontal vegetable engaging surface of said member, the horizontal edge of said cutter being so arranged as to cut the vegetable at the plane of the upper surface of the horizontal vegetable engaging surface.

4. A vegetable cutter comprising a base, guide members upon said base having one horizontal and one vertical vegetable engaging surface, a cutter aflixed to said base between said guide members and having a vertical cutting edge parallel to the vertical vegetable engaging surface of said guide members and a horizontal cutting edge parallel to the horizontal vegetable engaging surface of said guide members, the horizontal edge of said cutter being so arranged as to cutthe vegetable at the plane of the upper surface of the horizontal vegetable engaging surface of the guide member which ngages the vegetable before it reaches the cutter.

5. A vegetable cutter comprising a base, and leading and trailing guide members mounted upon said base and each composed of a horizontal and a vertical wall, said guide members being mounted with their respective walls parallel to each other in substantially end-to-end relation but offset from each other so that the edges of the walls of said trailing guide member. form exposed cutters, one of said cutters being raised so as to cut at the plane of the upper surface of the corresponding wall of the leading guide member.

6. A vegetable cutter comprising a base, and a leading guide member and a trailing guide member mounted upon said base in substantially endto-end relation, said guide members each composed of a pair 'of walls forming bearing surfaces, one of said walls being continuous to form a wall and bearing surface for both guide members and the other wall on the trailing guide member being parallel to but ofiset from the corresponding wall of the leading guide member, the exposed edges of the walls of the trailing guide member forming cutters, and the exposed edge of the continuous wall being raised to cut at the plane of the upper surface of said wall.

'7. A vegetable cutter comprising a sheet of rigid material forming a base and having a portion thereof offset from the base and connected to the base by wall portions extending at substantially a right angle thereto, said wall portions being severed and adjacent the line of severance thereof being offset from each other in the plane of the base and connected to each other by a wall portion substantially parallel to the base, to form an opening through the sheet, the exposed edges of the sheet adjacent said opening forming cutting edges.

JAMES A. MURDOCK. 

